Electrical power distribution

ABSTRACT

This invention is for an electrical power distribution system consisting of a plurality of plug-in receptacles in a continuous line including plugs etc. which are designed to fit anywhere along the line of receptacles. The attachment plug for the system is specially designed to snap into any place along the receptacle or receptacles and thus be latched into good connection with an electrical power source. Various fittings are provided such as current transfer and end caps.

United States Patent 11 1 Luxton Nov. 6, 1973 [54] ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION 2,292,554 8/1942 Weeber 339/61 R [76] Inventor: Robert A. Luna, 444 [am St" 2,390,852 12/1945 Stee 339/61 R Honolulu, Hawaii 96734 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 22 Filed; Apr. 2 19 345,116 3/1931 Great Britain 339/61 R' [2]] Appl' l37l52 Primary Examiner-Marvin A. Champion Related US. Appli tion D t Assistant ExaminerRobert A. Hafer [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 883,155, Dec. 8, Attorneymjames wray [57] ABSTRACT g 339/ 4 6 This invention is for an electrical power distribution [58] Field o r siii c ii fijfi: 339 141, 20, 21, 22, F F l l P F in 339/23 24 74 61 62 63 64 65 66 a continuous lme II'lClUdlIlg plugs etc. which are designed to fit anywhere along the line of receptacles.

The attachment plug for the system is specially de- [56] References cued signed to snap into any place along the receptacle or UNITED STATES PATENTS receptacles and thus be latched into good connection 2,073,535 3/1937 Kennedy 339/21 R with an electrical power source. Various fittings are Davison provided uch as current transfer and end caps 2,015,101 9/1935 Dieckmann 339/66 R X 2,691,092 10/1954 McConnell et a1. 339/61 R X 11 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PAIENTEmmv 6 I975 sum 1 or 2 INVENTOR ELECTRICAL POWER DISTRIBUTION This application is a continuation-impart of pending application Ser. No. 883,155, filed Dec. 8, 1969 for Electrical Power Distribution.

The electrical plug-in system is a completely. new approach and is so arranged and designed so that electrical power can be obtained at and along a stretch of an elongated member wherein one or more plugs can be attached and thus eliminate the needfor cumbersome and unsightly electrical power cords of material length. The elongated receptacle means and plugs designedfor attachment thereto are suitable for home and commercial use. All attachments are thoroughly grounded and need not be a danger tocau se fire or electrical shock.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to present a new and novel elongated means to receive attachment plugs and it is means so arranged that plugs are latched or locked to the elongated means.

Another object is to provide strong and sturdy means for attachment plugs and which means can stretch along various walls, door trim, window trim and arranged to conform to various paneling etc.

Still another object is to provide a continuous receptacle means and various fittings therefore which are simple in construction and economical to make and manufacture.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a general array of an elongated receptacle shown in perspective view; 1

FIG. 2 is a vertical view mostly in section showing a portion of an elongated receptacle with attachment P g;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of a current transfer block;

FIG. 4 is a front view of that shown in FIG. 3 with portions broken away;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a corner type of current transfer block with a portion broken away;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to that of FIG 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of that shown in FIG. 5 on line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a portion of the elongated receptacle with an adapter connected thereto;

FIG. 9 is a front view of that shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is another view of the attachment plug.

The physical construction of the receptacle will be varied in design to meet architectual desires but nevertheless maintain the basic electrical design. For instance, the elongated receptacle can be designed as a baseboard using plastic material with various wood grains and finishes or may be moulding suitable for use anywhere inside and outside buildings of all kinds. The elongated receptacle may be made available in 2 foot increments and up to possibly or foot lengths. In any event, the system of this invention is constructed to meet the requirements of the Fire Underwriters Code. Where exposed to weather, short lengths will be used with a snap-lock plastic cover means.

In the drawings, various parts are shown which are.

sized and arranged for cooperation. The particular form and forms shown comprise first portions 1, 2 and 3 of an elongated receptacle which in this particular case may be sections of baseboards for a room. At the corner thereof is shown a corner block 4 that transfers electrical current from receptacle portion 2 to portion electrical connections in a manner well known in 3. Current transfer blocks are provided which couple various lengths of the receptacle to one another, and such a transfer block is shown at 5. End caps or blocks 6 and 7 are shown to protect current carrying conductors which otherwise would be exposed.

In FIG. 2 a cross section of the elongated receptacle is shown having connection with an attachment plug 8. The rear portion 9 of the receptacle is shown flat, but it may be curved if necessary. but the front portion is offset to accommodate the plug 8 and which plug has special features to be explained in detail later. Since the receptacle is of plastic material which makes it flexible, the lengths of the receptacle can be worked around curved corners of rooms without the necessity of employing the transfer blocks, that is, if the wall of a room is curved with a reasonable radius that is large enough to dispense with the use of current transfer blocks.

FIG. 2 shows the face of the receptacle having the different surfaces 10, ll, 12, 13 and 14. The surface 12 accommodates a female conductor 15, and the surface 13 accommodates the female conductor means 16, as shown. These female conductors are elongated and have the form of a slot or groove so that the attachment plug can be connected anywhere along the entire length of the receptacle. Another female conductor is provided at 17 which is the ground connection. At various points along the length of the receptacle connections 18, 19 and 20 are provided as shown in FIG. 8 of the drawings. These connections would be located where feed wall receptacle boxes (not shown) are located in the building and which boxes are well known to the electrical trade and which have conductors feeding them from the power sources of the building which may be or 230 volt circuits.

As shown in FIG. 2, the attachment plug 8 has a cover means 21 with side flange means 22 which engage the perimeter of a plate 23, and this plate is configerated to agree with the surfaces l2, l3 and 14 of the receptacle 1 or the receptacles 2 and 3. This plate accommodates a pair of spaced apart prongs 24 and 25 with their respective connector screws to which the conductors of a portable cord are attached. Another prong 26 is provided which is a guide pin and is the one that is. grounded and adapted to receive the ground wire of a portable cord. The portable electric cord is not shown, but a hole 27 is provided therefore. A screw means 28 is included so that the cover 8 can be removed from the plate 23 for the purpose of making the trade. I

Note, that the prongs 24 and 25 are toed-in toward each other and align themselves with some pressure to enter their respective female connectors 15 and 16. The attachment plug finger means 29 is integral with the cover'8, and this cover and the finger means 29 are of plastic material and are resilient enough to allow compression so as to spread the prongs 24 and 25 apart so that they can enter their respective connectors 15 and 16. This toeing position of theprongs latches or locks the attachment plug to the receptacle so as to make good electrical connection and not to be easily removed. The length and width of the prongs of the plug could be varied depending on current requirements of a particular electrical unit; however, this basic design is five-eighths inch which should exceed the current-carrying capacity of the present standard twoprong electrical plug.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 a bridging connector or power jumper 5 is shown which is a block of plastic material having its rear surface configurated to conform to the shape of the face of the receptacle strip and which may for instance be used for joining 1 and 2 together electrically and physically.

This jumper block has two sets of contact prongs which are spaced apart so that current can be conducted from the strip 1 to the strip 2 or vice versa. Each set of prongs are the same and each consist of the prongs 30 and 32 which are across the power line and the prong 31 which is the ground connection. These prongs or rather the sets of prongs are connected together by the cross conductors 33, 34 and 35.

A bridging or jumper corner block 4 shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 6 and 7 is similar to block 5 and is arranged for carrying electric current around a corner. This block electrically and physically joins the receptacle strips 2 and 3 together. This connector block has the two wings 36 and 37'. Their faces where they join the strips are configurated to match the'front faces of the strips 2 and 3.

Prongs 38 and 41 are connected together electrically by the conductor 44; prongs 39 and 42 are connected by conductor 45; and prongs 40 and 43 by the conductor 46. these cross conductors 44-46 are offset as shown in FIG. 7.

7 FIG. 8 and FIG. 9show an adapter 47 which is used for transfering the prong system 48, 49 and 50 into the prong system 51, 52 and 53 respectively. These prongs 51-53 are all female connectors and are arranged to receive the well known and common attachment plug found in the home, office or factory etc.

Certain novel features and details of this invention are disclosed herein, and in some cases in considerable detail and thought necessary in order to make the invention clear in one form thereof. However, it is to be understood that the invention is not necessarily limited to the exact form and details disclosed since it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described and claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed and believed new and which is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An attachment plug means for connecting one conductor line to another conductor line, the means having a housing having a back face and a front surface defined by two flat sloping faces which slope toward each other and toward said back face, and with a pair of spaced apart prongs extending perpendicularly from said flat faces towards each other wherein the pair of prongs are toed inwardly so that their angle of intersection is greater than 45, and wherein the flat faces intersect at an obtuse angle less than which is supplementary to the angle formed by the prongs.

2. The means recited in claim 1 wherein a third flat prong is positioned in the housing and extends therefrom between the toed inward prongs to provide a guide prong and a ground connection for inserting in a sloped-walled receptacles central outer groove.

3. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the toed inward prongs are connected to female connectors which are housed in an outlet receptacle and which female connectors are toed toward each other.

4. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the toed inwardly prongs have connection with female connectors which are toed inward.

5. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the housing is flexible so that pressure on the housing will cause the toed prongs to spread apart at their ends so that they can enter grooved conductors on a strip of material.

6. The means recited in claim 1 wherein there are two pairs of spaced apart prongs connected together which can bridge a joint where two elongated recepta cles are connected.

7. The means recited in claim 1 wherein there are two pairs of inward sloping faces and two pairs of spaced apart prongs and wherein the pairs of prongs are oriented inward at right angles to one another and to the faces and are electrically connected together.

8. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the plug means is an adapter having inward toed prongs on sloping faces thereof and having straight female connectors on an opposite face thereof which can be connected to an ordinary plug means having straight prongs.

9. The attachment plug means of claim '1 wherein width of the prongs of the plug is greater than length of the prongs according to current requirements of a particular electrical circuit of which the plugis a part.

10. An electrical receptacle comprising a body having a back face for mounting on a surface and having a pair of first and second front faces sloping outward to a central terminus of maximum displacement from the back face, first and second electrical connectors mounted within the housing, first and second grooves inthe housing sloping inward from the first and second faces towards each other and terminating respectively at the first and second connectors, and wherein the central terminus is a flat intermediate face having a third groove and further comprising a ground connector mounted in the body and communicating with the third groove.

11. The electrical receptacle of claim 10 wherein the body, the sloped faces, the conductors and the grooves extend longitudinally. 

1. An attachment plug means for connecting one conductor line to another conductor line, the means having a housing having a back face and a front surface defined by two flat sloping faces which slope toward each other and toward said back face, and with a pair of spaced apart prongs extending perpendicularly from said flat faces towards each other wherein the pair of prongs are toed inwardly so that their angle of intersection is greater than 45*, and wherein the flat faces intersect at an obtuse angle less than 135* which is supplementary to the angle formed by the prongs.
 2. The means recited in claim 1 wherein a third flat prong is positioned in the housing and extends therefrom between the toed inward prongs to provide a guide prong and a ground connection for inserting in a sloped-walled receptacle''s central outer groove.
 3. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the toed inward prongs are connected to female connectors which are housed in an outlet receptacle and which female connectors are toed toward each other.
 4. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the toed inwardly prongs have connection with female connectors which are toed inward.
 5. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the housing is flexible so that pressure on the housing will cause the toed prongs to spread apart at their ends so that they can enter grooved conductors on a strip of material.
 6. The means recited in claim 1 wherein there are two pairs of spaced apart prongs connected together which can bridge a joint where two elongated receptacles are connected.
 7. The means recited in claim 1 wherein there are two pairs of inward sloping faces and two pairs of spaced apart prongs and wherein the pairs of prongs are oriented inward at right angles to one another and to the faces and are electrically connected together.
 8. The means recited in claim 1 wherein the plUg means is an adapter having inward toed prongs on sloping faces thereof and having straight female connectors on an opposite face thereof which can be connected to an ordinary plug means having straight prongs.
 9. The attachment plug means of claim 1 wherein width of the prongs of the plug is greater than length of the prongs according to current requirements of a particular electrical circuit of which the plug is a part.
 10. An electrical receptacle comprising a body having a back face for mounting on a surface and having a pair of first and second front faces sloping outward to a central terminus of maximum displacement from the back face, first and second electrical connectors mounted within the housing, first and second grooves in the housing sloping inward from the first and second faces towards each other and terminating respectively at the first and second connectors, and wherein the central terminus is a flat intermediate face having a third groove and further comprising a ground connector mounted in the body and communicating with the third groove.
 11. The electrical receptacle of claim 10 wherein the body, the sloped faces, the conductors and the grooves extend longitudinally. 